Don't worry, we like playing with 32 players. That's not going to change.
We're using plugin that simply scales down the number of visible slots on the server browser. As soon as more than 20 players are on the servers, it will show 32. There are always 32 slots available however, whatever it says in the browser. It's a psychological thing... joining a 12/32 server doesn't feel like a good idea compared to a 12/24.
As for servers being empty in prime-time, I'm looking at it, but there's definitely a problem. Other server admins have been reporting quickplay issues lately; I'm taking the servers offline and will try to see what I can do. Will post an update.
EDIT:
Servers are now online. Hopefully, traffic will resume normally, at least on Payload.